My Human Race

I love Nike Plus because it motivates you to run by joining virtual races like last Sunday's Nike Human Race 10K.

On 8/31/08, I already planned to run on Calauit Island for my 10k Nike Human Race. One good thing about the Nike Sports band is that it is light and you can wear it like a watch. I own a Garmin 305 and a Nike Plus iPod Kit but I find the Nike Sportsband to be traveller friendly. You can bring it anywhere and the battery life lasts for 3 days. With the iPod Kit, I had to bring an iPod, a Sennheiser earphones, and the Nike Plus transmitter. It is inconvenient to run with the iPod because you have to strap it to your body or use a special Nike Plus shorts to hold the iPod in place when running. For the Garmin 305, it is a bit bulky and you need to ensure to charge it before using it. It is notorious for its short battery life. Since the Nike sportsband uses pedometer technology it is not as accurate as the Garmin 305. It has an error of +/- 1 Km with the actual distance (in my experience). You have to calibrate it properly and it is accurate for shorter distances.

On Human Race day, I ended up running 3k on the Calauit Island with the Giraffes and Zebras. Then we travelled one and a half hours by boat to Club Paradise where I continued to run for the next 7k. Unfortunately, you cannot pause a run for 90 mins so I had to start a new run in the Nike Plus Sportsband. Club Paradise Island is quite small so I ran around the island a couple of times and climbed up Eagles point - the highest point in the island. It was more of a trail run that lasted for 2 hours. We celebrated the completion of my virtual Nike Human Race with a lunch buffet at Club Paradise.

Thanks to Nike Plus technology, I'm proud to be part of 1 Million runners globally who ran for the first Nike Human Race 10K!Text and Photos by Anton Diaz. Copyright 2008.